eMedication Meets eHealth with the Electronic Medication Management Assistant (eMMA).

Background: A patient’s healthcare team is often missing a complete overview on the prescribed and dispensed medication. This is due to an inconsistent information flow between the different actors of the healthcare system. Often, only the patient himself knows exactly which drugs he is actually taking. Objectives: Our objective is to exploit different eHealth technologies available or planned in Switzerland to improve the information flow of the medication data among the stakeholder and to support the patient in managing his medication.Methods: This work is embedded in the "Hospital of the Future Live" project, involving 16 companies and 6 hospitals in order to develop IT solutions for future optimized health care processes. A comprehensive set of requirements was collected from the different actors and project partners. Further, specifications of the available or planned eHealth infrastructure were reviewed to integrate relevant technologies into a coherent concept. Results: We developed a concept that combines the medication list and an eHealth platform. The resulting electronic medication management assistant (eMMA) designed for the patient provides the current medication plan at any time and supports by providing relevant information through a conversational user interface. Conclusion: In Switzerland, we still need a bridging technology to combine the medication information from the electronic patient record with the medication plan's associated QR-Code. The developed app is intended to provide such bridge and demonstrates the usefulness of the eMediplan. It enables the patient to have all data regarding his medication on his personal mobile phone and he can - if necessary - provide the current medication to the health professional. Keywords. EHealth, Electronic Prescription, Medication Safety, Medication System, Conversational UI, mHealt

Rockefeller Foundation 2010 Annual Report

Contains president's letter; 2010 program highlights, including support for Africa's green revolution, sustainable and equitable transportation policy, and healthy communities; grants list; financial report; and lists of trustees and staff

Preparedness for e-health in developing countries: the case of Ghana

As Ghana embarks on a national e-Health initiative there is the need to explore its preparedness in terms of socioeconomic and development, technology infrastructure and operational preparedness, and skills and human resources. This paper reports on a literature review as part of a research program, which aims to inform the development of an effective roadmap for the successful implementation of the national e-Health initiative in Ghana. The literature was searched for factors of e-Health adoption in developing countries; and realization of the anticipated benefits through IEEE, Medline, Google scholar and Google search engines. Sixteen (16) articles were reviewed were from 176 related articles that were found. The literature review found the two highest priority objectives in in e-Health Africa: providing health education for health professionals (identified in 7 of the 16 projects reported on in the literature) and improvement of primary health care services 9 of the 16 projects). Six (6) or 39% each of the 16 projects reported a lack of skills and Human Resources Socioeconomic issues, and Technology infrastructure problems reported in 22% or the remaining four (4) projects. The paper concluded that the effects of these challenges could lead to Ghana like many other developing countries struggling to adopt e-Health, its inability to realize the potential benefits of e-Health and its ability to institutionalize and sustain e-Health

Digital Health Transformation of Integrated Care in Europe: Overarching Analysis of 17 Integrated Care Programs

Background: Digital health tools comprise a wide range of technologies to support health processes. The potential of these technologies to effectively support health care transformation is widely accepted. However, wide scale implementation is uneven among countries and regions. Identification of common factors facilitating and hampering the implementation process may be useful for future policy recommendations. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the implementation of digital health tools to support health care and social care services, as well as to facilitate the longitudinal assessment of these services, in 17 selected integrated chronic care (ICC) programs from 8 European countries. Methods: A program analysis based on thick descriptions including document examinations and semistructured interviews with relevant stakeholders of ICC programs in Austria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom was performed. A total of 233 stakeholders (ie, professionals, providers, patients, carers, and policymakers) were interviewed from November 2014 to September 2016. The overarching analysis focused on the use of digital health tools and program assessment strategies. Results: Supporting digital health tools are implemented in all countries, but different levels of maturity were observed among the programs. Only few ICC programs have well-established strategies for a comprehensive longitudinal assessment. There is a strong relationship between maturity of digital health and proper evaluation strategies of integrated care. Conclusions: Notwithstanding the heterogeneity of the results across countries, most programs aim to evolve toward a digital transformation of integrated care, including implementation of comprehensive assessment strategies. It is widely accepted that the evolution of digital health tools alongside clear policies toward their adoption will facilitate regional uptake and scale-up of services with embedded digital health tools

Translating Health IT Policy into Practice in the UK National Health Service

The challenge to provide a nation-wide integrated health service is central to UK government policy. The National Programme for Information Technology was launched in 2002 to transform healthcare using information and communications technology. As the largest, non-military, non-scientific government funded IT programme worldwide, it was planned over a decade with an estimated total cost expected to exceed £20bn. This paper is a longitudinal study of the National Care Record Service, which was the largest part of the programme, aimed to provide 50 million UK (English) citizens with an electronic health record. Using episodic interviewing techniques over ten years and secondary source material, the findings reveal a series of IT policy changes to the original Programme. Delays to roll out electronic health records are linked to issues about procurement strategies with IT suppliers, benefits realisation, risk assessment and clinical engagement. This study extends academic work on the deployment of large scale, long-term publicly funded IT projects, which go beyond the technical imperative to transform healthcare. Findings suggest government agencies need to embed cultural, social and economic criteria into health IT policy-making. Tracking this Programme for a decade, we observe how a centralised, top-down approach was replaced by localised IT procurement and implementation, giving NHS organisations more decision-making powers. However, the Programme was beset by continuous policy changes affecting the structure, organisation and IT of the NHS, where attempts to achieve benefits finally resulted in the break-up of the Programme

From reverse innovation to global innovation in animal health: a review

Reverse innovation refers to learning from or diffusion of innovations developed in low income settings and further translated to industrialized countries. There is lack of consensus regarding terminology, but the idea that innovations in low-income countries are promising for adoption in high-income contexts is not new. However, in healthcare literature globally, the vast majority of publications referring to 'disruptive innovation' were published in the last ten years. To assess the potential of innovative developments and technologies for improving animal health, we initiated a literature review in 2020. We used a combined approach, incorporating targeted searching in PubMed using a key word algorithm with a snowball technique, to identify 120 relevant publications and extract data for qualitative coding. Heterogeneity of articles precluded meta-analysis, quality scoring and risk of bias analysis. We can distinguish technical innovations like new digital devices, diagnostic tests and procedures, and social innovations of intersectoral cooperation. We profile two case studies to describe potential global innovations: an integrated surveillance and response system in Somali Regional State, Ethiopia and a blockchain secured One Health intervention to optimally provide post-exposure prophylaxis for rabies exposed people in West Africa. Innovation follows no borders and can also occur in low-income settings, under constraints of cost, lack of services and infrastructure. Lower administrative and legal barriers may contribute to produce innovations that would not be possible under conditions of high density of regulation. We recommend using the term global innovation, which highlights those emanating from international partnership to solve problems of global implications

Health Information Exchange as a Complex and Adaptive Construct: Scoping Review

Objective To understand how the concept of Health Information Exchange (HIE) has evolved over time. Methods                                                            Supplementary analysis of data from a systematic scoping review of definitions of HIE from 1900 to 2014, involving temporal analysis of underpinning themes. Results The search identified 268 unique definitions of HIE dating from 1957 onwards; 103 in scientific databases and 165 in Google. These contained consistent themes, representing the core concept of exchanging health information electronically, as well as fluid themes, reflecting the evolving policy, business, organisational and technological context of HIE (including the emergence of HIE as an organisational ‘entity’). These are summarised graphically to show how the concept has evolved around the world with the passage of time.  The term HIE emerged in 1957 with the establishment of Occupational HIE, evolving through the 1990s with concepts such as electronic data interchange and mobile computing technology; then from 2006-10 largely aligning with the US Government’s health information technology strategy and the creation of HIEs as organisational entities, alongside the broader interoperability imperative, and continuing to evolve today as part of a broader international agenda for sustainable, information-driven health systems. Conclusions The concept of HIE is an evolving and adaptive one, reflecting the ongoing quest for integrated and interoperable information to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of health systems, in a changing technological and policy environment

Report on the World Summit on the Information Society stocktaking 2008

This report updates stakeholders on activities undertaken by governments and other organizations with regard to bridging the digital divide between less and more affluent countries and other WSIS objectives between 2005 to mid 2008.The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) serves as a platform for governments, international organizations, business companies and other entities to address issues related to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), particularly, focusing on turning the digital divide into a digital opportunity for all. During the WSIS all players acknowledged the vital role that ICTs can play in boosting economic growth, as well as in social development, by creating not only employment opportunities but also building human capacities and contributing to cultural identity. The aim of this report is to update stakeholders on activities undertaken by governments and other organizations with regard to the achievement of WSIS objectives and targets in the period of time from end 2005 to mid 2008. This report is a continuation of the WSIS Stocktaking Report series, which was officially launched at the Tunis Summit in November 2005, and that time reflecting the flagship activities carried out by the WSIS stakeholders during the two phases of the Summit and submitted to the WSIS Stocktaking Information System